Amateur-built VAQUERO incident near Hebron, Illinois, November 1, 2011
On November 1, 2011 at about 10:30 pm local time, a amateur-built VAQUERO, registered N30CY, was involved in an incident during enroute (cruise) near Hebron, Illinois. It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
The pilot’s operation of the airplane with known medical conditions and his subsequent heart attack during the flight.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- November 1, 2011 · about 10:30 pm local time
- Place
- Hebron, Illinois · map
- Type
- Incident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Amateur-built VAQUERO
- Registration
- N30CY · registry record · serial 0004
- Damage
- Not recorded
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot experienced a medical event in-flight and landed his airplane in a field. The airplane sustained no damage. The pilot's son arrived where the airplane landed and saw the pilot lying back in the airplane’s seat; the pilot did not appear to be breathing. First responders revived and subsequently transported the pilot to a local hospital. The pilot died about two days later and the cause of death was determined to be a myocardial infarction. The pilot had previous heart conditions, including bypass surgery. The pilot last applied for a medical certificate about ten years prior to the incident flight. On the application for his last medical certificate, the pilot indicated his previously reported “heart or vascular trouble” on prior medical applications and his use of Coumadin, an anticoagulant medication. The airplane the pilot was flying required the pilot to have a current medical certificate to operate it. The investigation could not determine the exact extent of and time that the pilot experienced the medical event that he had to be revived from when the airplane landed.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
What happened, in order
- Miscellaneous/other during enroute (cruise) defining event
- Off-field or emergency landing during emergency descent
The NTSB's findings
- Personnel issues › Experience/knowledge › Experience/qualifications › Qualification/certification › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Physical › Health/Fitness › Predisposing condition › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Action/decision › Info processing/decision › Decision making/judgment › Pilot
- cause Personnel issues › Physical › Impairment/incapacitation › (general) › Pilot
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 4,000 hours in all
- Medical certificate: Class 3
- Seat: rear
- Injury: no injuries
The aircraft
- Last inspection: inspection type not recorded
- Maximum gross weight: 1,492 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Ama/Expr UNKNOWN ENG (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: Hebron IL
- Destination: Hebron IL
- Flight plan: none
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 180° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 10 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 55°F (13°C), dew point 43°F (6°C)
- Altimeter: 29.97 inHg
- Observation at 10:35 pm from BUU
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flight crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.